Jeon Sang-guk, Jeonnam Provincial Councilor: "One in Three Village Enterprises Suspended or Closed"

123 Out of 332 Locations Suspended Operations
Government Support Reduced... Village Enterprises at a Crossroads

There have been claims that Jeonnam Province's village enterprise development project is being operated mainly for formal achievements and fails to produce substantial effects.

Choi Seon-guk, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Mokpo 1), pointed out on the 12th during the administrative audit of the Jeonnam Province Job Investment Attraction Bureau, "There are a total of 332 village enterprises in Jeonnam (123 Jeonnam-type preliminary village enterprises and 209 Ministry of the Interior and Safety-type village enterprises), but among them, 123 are either temporarily closed or permanently shut down."

Choi Seon-guk, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced the 'Development Plan for Revitalizing Village Enterprises' in May 2021, setting the goal of fostering 'one village, one village enterprise' so that village enterprises can become the core of the local economy. However, due to changes in the current government's policy direction, the 2024 budget has been drastically cut compared to the previous year, threatening not only the practical development of village enterprises but also their very existence.

Assemblyman Choi criticized, "It is a serious problem that more than one-third of the village enterprises in Jeonnam Province are not operating," adding, "This situation is the responsibility of Jeonnam Province, which was more focused on increasing the number of village enterprises rather than ensuring their sound management and qualitative growth."

He continued, "Jeonnam Province does not accurately reflect the operational status of village enterprises and merely inflates the number of enterprises to promote achievements," and criticized the formalistic surveys and follow-up management, saying, "In particular, goods acquired with subsidies are left abandoned in temporarily closed or shut down enterprises, and recovery measures are insufficient."

He emphasized, "It has been over 10 years since the village enterprise development project was implemented. Nevertheless, there have been only two cases of handling recovered goods, leading to criticism of insufficient basic data collection and status management."

In response, Wi Gwang-hwan, head of the Job Investment Attraction Bureau, stated, "Through the status survey, we will cancel the designation of village enterprises that are struggling to operate and strive to manage village enterprises with substance."